Gandhi vs Martin Luther
Now we guys are on LinkedIn and we have to take up drab topics like Leadership, once in a while. I am sure LinkedIns charter says it somewhere. So here goes the leadership speil.
I had some time today and am all out of anime and sci-Fi. Was lounging on LinkedIn, read someone talk of their “love for their country”, and Saurabh Singh’s comment on how they were destined to be in India due to their degrees etc.
somehow was reminded of the phrase “My country, Right or wrong” by Schultz. Had forgotten the context.
So I jumped off to swim the Internet and one thing leads to another and 5 minutes later I am reading Martin Luther king junior’s last speech before he was assassinated.
It’s called “ I have been to the mountain top”.
I feel completely overwhelmed. (Link below)
The guy is a maestro with words. There is humility, and oomph and agenda and greatness all woven into it.
Its well known that Martin Luther was an avid Gandhian. I realised that I have read a Lot about Gandhi but never read a speech BY gandhi.
Off to internet again. And I find the speech which Gandhi have before the Dandi march. I get all excited, and I start reading it, expecting to be all motivated. But boy, it’s a let down. It feels like how a CEO would conduct a meeting if he was going offline for a month, and all he had working for him were chumps.
There is no trust on people. There’s only direction. If this happens, do this and this. No motivation. No emotion. No jingoism. Factual to the point. It’s not a speech, but a directive.
That made me think. Both were leaders a couple of decades apart. The type of people they were speaking to had some similarities that they were oppressed. Both are giving the same message which is to organise and boycott. But the way they are doing it is so different.
One is doing it in a way that it’s inspiring even after 60 years. Another is as interesting as watching paint dry.
While one (Martin) is trying to instill hope, gently give a directive to organise and boycott, trusting people to do the right thing. The other is repeating message again and again with a visible fear that people might not listen.
It’s a study in contrast. One was a lawyer by profession, the other was an ordained minister. But both were successful and both are remembered.
I am sharing both the links below. They are small but interesting reads. Do let me know what do you think.
https://lnkd.in/dHpWDJSg
https://lnkd.in/d-Y4uEjc
Associate Creative Director, Copy
4moI missed the group photo because I was getting ice cream!